Fight Against Global Hunger Set Back 15 Years, Warns UN Report
Progress fighting global hunger has been set back 15 years, leaving around 733 million people going hungry in 2023, equivalent to one in 11 people globally and one in five in Africa, according to the latest UN State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report published on Wednesday.
“The bottom line is that we are still far off-track towards the goal of ridding the world of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by 2030,” said Maximo Torero, Chief Economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in reference to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and specifically SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
Mr. Torero noted that if current trends persist, around 582 million people will still face hunger in 2030, half of them in Africa. Despite progress in combating stunting and in promoting breastfeeding, global hunger levels have remained stubbornly static for three consecutive years.
Between 713 million and 757 million people were undernourished in 2023, around 152 million more than in 2019, according to the report, a joint publication by FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
Africa, Asia, Latin America in focus
Regional trends show a stark contrast with hunger continuing to rise in Africa, affecting 20.4 per cent of the population, while remaining stable in Asia at 8.1 per cent. This is a significant concern given that the region houses more than half of those facing hunger worldwide.
UN News, https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1152451
Government Fails to Monitor Firms With £4bn Contracts to House Asylum Seekers
The government is failing to monitor private firms holding asylum accommodation contracts worth billions of pounds, openDemocracy and Liberty Investigates can reveal.
A joint investigation has found that the Home Office holds no centralised data on the performances of its three main accommodation providers – Serco, Mears and Clearsprings Ready Homes – which together house almost all of the 100,000 asylum seekers in government accommodation.
In 2019, these firms were awarded public contracts initially estimated to be worth £4bn over 10 years, though costs have since spiralled. Earlier this year the National Audit Office said it expects the Home Office to have spent “£3.1bn on hotels” in the financial year ending in March 2024 alone.
The three companies often act as middlemen – placing asylum seekers in hotels or other accommodation owned by firms in their networks. But our investigation has revealed that the Home Office’s most recent lists of all the subcontracted providers are five years out of date.
Mark Wilding, Harriet Clugston, Indra Warnes, Independent, https://shorturl.at/mqpY9
Institute of Race Relations (IRR)
Calendar of Racism and Resistance ( 9 – 23rd July 2024)
Electoral Politics / Government Policy
As anti-migrant, anti-equalities, anti-abortion, misogynistic and anti-LGBTQI rhetoric in electoral campaigning are increasingly interlinked, we reflect this in the coverage below which also includes information on the influence of the Christian Right as well as the religious Right generally.
Anti-Fascism / The Far Right
With anti-migrant, anti-Muslim, anti-equalities, anti-abortion, misogynistic and anti-LGBTQI activities increasingly interlinking, we now incorporate information on the Christian Right as well as the religious Right generally.
Policing / Prisons / Criminal Justice System
10 July: The CPS drops its case against the executive director of Southall Black Sisters and two other women, launched after an incident at Kings Cross in September 2023, stating there was no ‘realistic prospect of conviction’. The three women say they were the victims of a violent racist attack and criticise an ‘institutionally racist’ and ‘unfair’ legal system.
Asylum / Migration / Borders / Citizenship
Borders / Internal controls
Reception / Detention
Deportations
Education
Housing / Poverty / Welfare
Employment / Exploitation / Industrial Action
Culture / Media / Sport
Racial Violence / Harassment
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Urgent Request to Relocate Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers from Diego Garcia to UK
Facing an urgent and escalating threat of harm to migrant children detained on Diego Garcia, Foreign Secretary David Lammy requested their relocation to the UK on July 16th, as reported in the Solicitors Journal. This request to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper follows a warning from the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Commissioner, who reported severe living conditions and recent suicide attempts among the detainees. According to Foreign Secretary Lammy’s appeal, relocating 39 asylum seekers, including 16 children, to Sri Lanka is not possible due to ongoing international protection claims. These individuals are still awaiting asylum or refugee status, and their relocation would breach international law.
The situation for over 60 Sri Lankan asylum seekers, including 16 children detained for more than 1000 days, has become increasingly dire. The BIOT Commissioner highlighted the inadequate living conditions on the island, significantly impacting the detainees’ mental health. Legal representatives have called for immediate government intervention to relocate this vulnerable group to safety. During a court hearing on Tuesday, Justice Obi reviewed submissions detailing the crisis within the detention compound. The court was informed that the BIOT Commissioner acknowledged the inability to meet the needs of the detained children, further complicating the situation.
Justice Obi has ordered the judicial review hearing to be reconvened on Diego Garcia in September. The Foreign Secretary’s request to relocate the asylum seekers to the UK underscores the urgency of the situation to prevent further harm and ensure the safety and well-being of the detainees.
Read more: Caitlin Peters,Justice Gsap, https://shorturl.at/KnnwS
Deported Cameroonian Asylum Seekers Returned to US
Returnees Abused in Both Countries; US Breached Asylum Confidentiality. The United States government has, since May 2024, approved the return of 27 Cameroonian asylum seekers who experienced serious harm in Cameroon after their deportation from the US in 2020, a coalition of human rights groups said today. While the returns were permitted on humanitarian grounds, in part based on US asylum confidentiality violations that contributed to their harm in Cameroon, the asylum seekers had also experienced abuses in US immigration detention, including the use of excessive force, painful full-body restraints, solitary confinement, racial discrimination, and medical neglect.
In October and November 2020, amid reports of the mistreatment of Cameroonian asylum seekers in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, the administration of then-US President Donald Trump deported dozens back to Cameroon, despite the ongoing risks of danger there and the objections of advocates and members of Congress. Prior to the Cameroonians’ deportations, ICE officials prevented many from accessing their luggage, which held sensitive asylum documents, leading to their discovery by Cameroonian authorities. A 2022 Human Rights Watch report documented that deported Cameroonians experienced abuses by Cameroonian authorities, including rape, torture, and other physical abuse, arbitrary detention, extortion, unfair prosecutions, restrictions on freedom of movement, and the targeting of relatives.
The US Department of Homeland Security granted the 27 Cameroonians humanitarian parole, a mechanism that allows people to enter the US temporarily on humanitarian grounds. Their applications – submitted on their behalf by immigrant rights and legal groups – note that in denying them the ability to remove the documents from their bags, ICE officials violated US federal regulation 8 C.F.R. § 208.6 on asylum confidentiality. They are now permitted to remain in the US for one year. During this time, they may reapply for asylum.
Human Rights Watch, https://shorturl.at/qQss7
UN Statement: Boat Fire Of Haiti Kills at Least 40 Migrants
At least 40 migrants have died after the boat they were travelling in caught fire off the northern coast of Haiti, a United Nations agency says. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says 41 others were rescued by the Haitian Coast Guard. The vessel was travelling from Cap-Haitien to the Turks and Caicos Islands, more than 220km (137 miles) away, the IOM said. The exact cause of the fire is not yet clear, but a local official told Reuters that people on the boat were lighting candles in a ritual to ask for safe passage, leading gasoline-filled drums to catch fire. The injured are receiving care provided by the IOM, and 11 of them were taken to the nearest hospital, the agency said. Tens of thousands of people flee Haiti every year, escaping poverty, lawlessness and gang violence at home.
George Wright, BBC News, 20/07/2024, https://shorturl.at/Y2F95
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